Class feedback continues on the new level 75 Rogue talent, Prey on the Weak, the Beta Class Balance Analysis thread, and a closer look at Monks.

Beta raid testing will finally include 25-player versions this week.

The new Pet Battle forum has seen a lot of recent activity, including blue posts on unique pet grouping and PvP vulnerabilities.

Yesterday was also a busy day here at Wowhead: a new beta patch was datamined, and we also posted a preview of capes and dungeons sets organized by style and color. The Tillers faction is now open on beta, as well as the revamped Jade Forest, which we'll have previews of very soon.

Klaxxi Guide

The Klaxxi are a faction in Dread Wastes that are sworn to protect the ideals of the Mantid Empire, even at the cost of killing their ruler.

Random dungeons and scenarios now have a "*Bonus Reputation:" line and a button that opens up your reputation panel. You'll get additional rep for completing your first scenario and dungeon of the day.

Hisek the Swarmkeeper has a chance to give you one of four possible dailies, after unlocking him at Revered.Debugging the Terrace: Stomp out 6 Eyes of the Empress around the Terrace of Gurthan. Killing anything will grant you Pheromone Tracking, helping you detect them. +130 reputation.

Lore spoilers hidden below:<name>, your deeds have earned you the trust of the Klaxxi.You are to be rewarded. Walk with me.We mantid are an elder race. The pandaren you associate with, they are but children. They have their role to play.Each cycle, our young swarm their walls. The pandaren slay the weak. The strong return.With each generation, we grow ever stronger.Before your history began, our empire was vast. We shared this world with our sister kingdoms, Ahn'Qiraj and Azjol-Nerub.Our gods were many and powerful. We mantid worshiped the Seven Heads of Y'Shaarj.Great was the Old One, and terrible was his wrath. He consumed hope and begat despair. He inhaled courage and breathed fear.When the Usurpers came, the ones you call Titans, Y'Shaarj was destroyed.His last terrible breath has haunted this land ever since, but the shadows he left behind are mere whispers of his former glory.I tell you know because you have earned this warning.Your gods are not YOUR gods, outsider.If the Old Ones ever return, we mantid will once again stand by their side.The wisest among you will do the same.That is all that needs to be said. Come, take your reward, and remember what you have learned today.

Klaxxi Paragons

When hitting Honored and starting dailies, you should have eight Paragons unlocked. At Revered, you can do a few more quests to unlock two more Paragons, their dailies, and complete Amber is the Color of My Energy and Stay Klaxxi.

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News Round Up

25% Off Character Race Change

Kaivax

Get ready for a new look. Through this weekend, and for a limited time only, you can change your World of Warcraft character’s race for 25% off the regular price!

To get started, simply click here. Alternatively, you can log in to your Battle.net account at www.battle.net, select your World of Warcraft account, and then click “Race Change” at the bottom of the page.

Don’t delay -- this offer ends Monday, July 30 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

Brewfest during Mists of Pandaria

Nakatoir

Brewfest will be updated for Mists of Pandaria. This means that you will have approximately 10 days after the release of Mists of Pandaria to reach level 89 in order to queue for the Brewfest dungeon boss. Luckily though, a lot of the content does not have a level requirement so you will still be able to participate in a lot of the fun even if you are not level 89 :)Will be Brewfest's part before 25 september be for 85; and then change for 90 levels when 25 september hits?

We will not rule out the possibility of this changing, but currently the level requirements will remain the same through the entirety of the event. So you will not be able to access Coren Direbrew until Mists of Pandaria has been released.

Upcoming Beta Raid Testing

Watcher

After the weekend, we will be testing a number of raid encounters, including 25-player encounters. The testing schedule for remaining Normal modes will be somewhat accelerated, since the encounters are already familiar to many testers and we are just verifying functionality and tuning.

Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below for all Beta Test Realms, regardless of suggested geographical region.

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session or cancel it entirely, due to bugs, builds, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Scenario Preview

Frost

You can now read more about the Mists of Pandaria Scenarios feature in our updated expansion preview website! Check out our sneak peek at two of the scenarios you and your friends will be able to play in Mists of Pandaria: A Brewing Storm and Greenstone Village.

What’s a “Scenario?”
Scenarios are short, instanced adventures for three players that directly follow the stories and events in the open world. In a scenario you’ll be presented with a number of goals you need to achieve in order to progress. So instead of “clear trash, kill boss, rinse, repeat”, you will be given objectives you have to complete to move the scenario’s story forward. Yes, that’s right – scenarios are heavily story-driven, much more so than dungeons.

You’ll be able to queue for scenarios, dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds all at the same time in Mists of Pandaria. Scenarios share a common UI with dungeons and raids as part of the Dungeon Finder, and you can check your queue statuses by clicking on the LFD icon next to your minimap.

Check out the previews now for more info and screenshots, and make sure to check back often as we’ll be adding info for more scenarios soon. Stay tuned!

Heroic Spine after the pre-MoP Patch

Watcher

So I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, but is anything being done to make heroic spine beatable after the nerf to dispels that are going out? Considering how rapidly you have to dispel on it, it seems impossible with the new dispell reductions.

When the pre-Mists patch goes live, Blood Corruption: Death on the Heroic Spine of Deathwing encounter will transform into the positive type after a single dispel.

Somewhat related, successfully dispelling Wrack on Sinestra will reset the cooldown of the caster's dispel ability, keeping the gameplay there unchanged.

Pet Battles: PvP Vulnerability

Mumper

The fact that players are vulnerable to PvP attacks while in a pet battle is intentional. However, a couple features that go along with this are not implemented yet.

First off, the exact pet you were fighting when you were broke out of pet battle will be respawned. Same quality, stats and skin color. Second, you will get a 3s damage shield that absorbs 50% of incoming damage to help negate the fact that you need time to recover after exiting the pet battle interface. Both of these will be in for the next build.

We feel its very important to keep the PvP aspect of the game intact and if you choose to play on a PvP server, you will certainly be fighting for those rare spawns. (This rule effects PVE servers as well but only in contested areas.)

Pet Battles: Unique Pets

Mumper

If I have three of the same pets that I bought or traded for before MoP and they are not WILD Pets, would I be able to learn all three in my pet book, just like if I caught three wild pets of the same kind, or is the 3 pets maximum reserved only only for the wild pets?

Yes, you will be able to have 3 of almost every pet. Certain pets are unique since they are attached to a Wow license, granted from an achievement or earned from TCG codes.

Beta Class Feedback

Crithto

Currently, the Gargoyle's Gargoyle Strike scales with a mechanism that does not seem to compare with any other pet ability mechanisms. We know you do not want to share specific values, but an explanation on what exactly affects the scaling of the spell would be helpful in modelling it.

Wow, this was an obscure bug! Turns out that Gargoyle Strike was accidentally hooked up to a mechanic that made its damage scale in a very odd way. We just removed that and adjusted its damage to compensate. In the next build, Gary the Gargoyle will get 70% of your AP as SP, and Gargoyle Strike will do base damage based on level (623 at level 90) plus 82.6% of SP. Hope that helps!

Traysent

My question is, how is this talent intended to work? How much is the heal supposed to be? 25% of base maximum (which would be 20% of new maximum)? 25% of new maximum? Are health percentages supposed to remain constant through its effect? Where does this 15% come from?

We weren't able to reproduce the results you mention, but this is the intended functionality of Nature's Guardian: When it is triggered, 25% of your current maximum health is calculated. Your current and maximum health is then increased by this value. When it wears off, it reduces your current and max health by that value. It should never actually kill you, but it can reduce your current health to 1.

Crithto

Yes, Mastery: Sniper Training does 50% weapon damage now, but we’ve increased the proc rate substantially to compensate. Also, the next build you get should include a significant number of changes to hunter ability damage, so it’s probably best to wait until then for really detailed investigation of their damage formulae. Super brief and incomplete summary of changes include nearly doubling Mastery: Sniper Training’s proc chance; doubling the damage of the level 90 talents; buffing BM’s Mastery considerably; reduced to 3 stacks; doubling the damage of Black Arrow and for Survival; significantly nerfing Beast Cleave; nearly halving the cost of Explosive Shot; buffing Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, and Chimaera Shot noticeably; nerfing Cobra Shot noticeably; nearly doubling the damage of Kill Command; reducing the cost of Arcane Shot; nerfing Focus Fire and Frenzy somewhat… There have been a lot of changes to Hunter damage. :)

Also note that while we understand everybody is eager to get a response, please try to refrain from repeatedly posting the same question or asking for updates on design questions. We are reading everything and responding to what we can. Thanks

Kaivax

• Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger is not scaling with AP converted from SP. We’re in the process of fixing this. His damage will increase significantly when completed.

• We agree that Rushing Jade Wind isn’t that much of a competitive choice for Mistweaver’s in that tier. We’re adding a new effect which will increase the healing done by the Monk’s Spinning Crane Kick (via Teachings of the Monastery) after cast.

• Revival is intended to be the Tranquility/Divine Hymn for Monks. We agree it may not be as competitive as the other healer's timers, so it’s likely we’ll do some tuning there.

• We’re going to be removing the cap of Renewing Mist (from 10 targets), mainly because the cooldown should be the limiter of # of active targets, not an arbitrary cap.

• Regarding Uplift not filling the slot of AOE healing, Spinning Crane Kick’s heal is intended to fill that gap. The healing done by SCK in the live beta build is bugged and not scaling from spellpower. We've got this fixed in a future beta patch.

• Regarding the melee healing monk, we'd appreciate more detail about what exactly is hampering the subspec from being viable.

• We agree that monks have mana issues right now, but in our tests, Mistweavers are still doing quite well. Expect healing number reductions if we do reduce mana costs and/or buff Mana Tea.

Lastly, we welcome any videos + combat log parses of raid tests with Mistweavers (in both ranged healing and melee healing subspecs), if you guys have them.We agree the rotation feels slightly slower paced in entry level gear than intended.

In an upcoming build we intend to increase the base Energy regeneration to 10/second, up from 8/second (and yes, this will also affect Brewmasters). We may have to follow this with some damage reductions, as monks are already performing at an optimal state in our damage tests. That said, in entry level expansion items, Energy regeneration rates are always going to feel slower than they should, because we have to tune things with future gear in mind.

Regarding “cleaving” damage balance, monks in our tests are competitive on 3+ targets via Spinning Crane Kick rather than Jab in a slightly different rotation.

As always, challenging us with specific numbers when outlining your case is very welcome.To provide an update on tanking mechanics, I want to comment on Mastery for Guardians and Brewmasters. This is somewhat of an over-generalization, but tanks typically care about 4 things when gearing in decreasing order of importance:

#4 is generally much less important than #1-3, and overlaps with #3 heavily when considering gear. And #3 is relatively easy these days anyway. So, usually it just comes down to #1 and #2.

Stamina primarily helps with #1. Dodge primarily helps with #2. Most other stats help with resource generation, which typically translate into #2. Mastery for Guardians and Brewmasters is in the somewhat unusual place of helping with both #1 and #2 significantly.

If you compare Mastery to Dodge for a Brewmaster, as a few theorycrafters here have done, you can see that, purely in terms of how much they reduce your damage taken, Dodge wins by a considerable margin. We balanced it that way, because we give value to how much it helps with #1 as well. Obviously, helping with #1 has some value, because you care about Stamina. We see Mastery for Guardians and Brewmasters as sort of a hybrid between Stamina and Avoidance, in terms of how it helps improve your character.

It’s easy to objectively compare the value of two stats in terms of how much they help with #1, or how much they help with #2. But comparing some amount of help with #1 to some amount of help with #2 is much more complex and subjective. It’s an interesting choice that tanks have to make all the time, and one of the most successful choices in gearing that the game provides (Stamina vs. Avoidance being the primary way that choice is expressed). So, that means balancing a stat that provides a mix of both can be complex and subjective as well. After much deliberation, we’re going to try valuing the effective health benefits of Mastery for Brewmasters and Guardians significantly lower than the damage reduction benefits, and adjusting the Mastery conversion rates to reflect that.

Hopefully this provides a bit of background and perspective about the complexities underlying even the simplest of changes: In the next build, you’ll find Mastery for Guardians providing 1.25% Armor per Mastery (up from 0.65%), and for Brewmasters providing 0.5% Stagger per Mastery (up from 0.3%).

Watcher

The perception was that Deadly Brew was essentially a mandatory PvP talent, which runs against our overall goal of creating choices, while at the same time being highly situational in endgame PvE.

When the new build hits the servers, take a look at the new set bonuses on the Mists PvP sets. We've added new bonuses alongside the existing ones in most cases, and for Rogues, that's where Deadly Brew has gone.

Crithto

Windfury Weapon should be mostly the same as on live. 1) Yes. 2) Yes. 3) Fixed. 4) White attacks and Windlash only. Other than adding Windlash to being able to proc it, it doesn’t look like it’s changed in quite a while; are you sure that yellow attacks trigger it on live? (Easy way to test just yellow attacks: Turn 90degrees away from a target dummy. White attacks won’t hit, but yellow attacks can, at exactly 90degrees).Is it intended for Healing Stream Totem and Healing Tide Totem to not benefit from mastery on the first ticks or is it just a technical limitation from totems? If so does this mean that crit does not benefit on first tick either for Healing Tide Totem(Have yet to see it but didn't do extensive testing on it).

Fixed for next build. It also dynamically adjusts with your mastery instead of snapshotting it.

Brennvin

Now onto what some others have brought up. Does the Drain Soul/ under 20% effect count as the dots themselves ticking? Considering how that would nerf shard regen if not, I personally believe it does. Since I can't test it yet, some clarification would be wonderful.

Yes. In all ways, the additional ticks of the DoTs provided by Drain Soul/ should function as additional ticks of the respective DoTs. For example, the extra Corruption ticks that occur (for 50% damage) from Drain Soul are able to proc Nightfall. This means that you’re actually getting *more* Corruption ticks than before, so we reduced the proc chance per tick of Nightfall to compensate; you should get the same number of Nightfall procs per time as before.

The Drain Soul mechanic change should not be a nerf at all. However, the 25% nerf to most Affliction-specific abilities should amount to a ~20% (very ballpark number, don’t hold us to that number if you model it as 21.8% or something) nerf. This is indeed a rather extreme amount, because they really were that extremely overpowered. We had been balancing them previously based on not having that glyph (and so when I said that we were seeing Affliction only a little ahead of Destruction, that was based on Affliction not having that glyph).One other clarification about the warlock changes: still deals double damage under 20%. It being missing from the new tooltip is just a tooltip error and has been corrected for the next build.

I was looking at the warlock changes in the upcoming beta build and noticed a few things. Why are you nerfing affliction so much? I agree it needed a nerf, but so much that it will go below the other 2 specs by a large amount?

Not to mention destroying a glyph and adding a new ability that kills clipping. People will just ignore the glyph and and just refresh dots right after they fall off to do max dps. Clipping with or without the glyph is useless now, but with the glyph it's like nerfing yourself. is barley better than Drain Soul under 20% today, now with it getting a HUGE nerf it will be completely useless as an execute.

We encourage you to try out the changes and see what has changed rather than relying on information that has been datamined. To help further explain, we’ll briefly summarize what has changed with Affliction damage.

We noticed (thanks to the community interaction in this thread) that the Glyph of Eternal Resolve was providing a huge DPS increase, but as we’ve said, we don’t want huge DPS increases to come from glyphs. Instead of simply nerfing the glyph, we baked the benefits that the glyph provided into the entire class via , a level 90 passive ability, and changed the glyph to something completely different. We also changed the design of Drain Soul to, hopefully, make the ability more reliable and simple; our intention was not to nerf it. It’s important to note that we reduced the base period of Unstable Affliction and Corruption from 3 seconds to 2 seconds, so both Drain Soul and should give you the same additional DoT damage now as they did before.

Today we have a news round up on more beta class balance analysis, as well as the guild mentoring program, old raid gold nerfs, and role of beta testing. With the release date for Mists of Pandaria, there's been a flurry of MoP-related posts as well, including Blizzard's very own beta key sweepstakes--they will be giving away 2,000 keys each week for five weeks.

We also have a spotlight on the Shado-Pan, a new faction in Mists of Pandaria with some epics and fun vanity rewards!

The Shado-Pan protect Pandaria from the imprisoned Sha--no small task. They are found wearing their distinctive navy-and-red armor throughout the borders of Pandaria in Kun-Lai Summit and Townlong Steppes. Rewards include some ilvl 489 epics as well as flavor items at both Honored and Exalted, such as breakable boards and mounts.

Random dungeons and scenarios now have a "*Bonus Reputation:" line and a button that opens up your reputation panel. You'll get additional rep for completing your first scenario and dungeon of the day.

5.1 Changes

Grand Commendation of the Shado-Pan has been added to Rushi the Fox for . This speeds up your primary character's rep grind from Revered to Exalted, and affects the rep grinds of all future alts. This buff stacks with guild and human rep bonuses.

Gaining Reputation

The Shado-Pan daily hub is located in western Townlong Steppes. Daily quests are selected from three sets of quest hubs, which all give +250 rep, except for the final quest which is 350 rep.

With each hub comes a special buff as well as a choice of three companions that will help DPS. When first starting out, players can "recruit" more companions by defeating them in combat, such as The Challenger's Ring: Hawkmaster Nurong.

Shan'ze Dao

Ban Bearheart gives one of three chains of Mogu quests in the north on Shan'ze Dao.

The Shado-Master

There is a meta-achievement for completing Shado-Pan dailies in a bunch of ways, The Shado-Master, which rewards the title Shado-Master.Defender of Gods: Complete the Shado-Pan finale, "Surprise Attack!"

Dread Wastes is the zone you'll probably ding 90 in. It's a dark zone, where the damage done by the Sha is the most visible. The mantid, a deadly race with an advanced culture, are wrecking additional havoc in the throes of corruption. The environment of Townlong Steppes, grassy fields with large healthy trees, is completely twisted here, with everything vivid shades of blue and purple. To combat the insanity, The Klaxxi are striking back, an elite order sworn to resist corruption and do what's best for the empire--even if that entails destroying the leader.

We have a visual preview below as well as a Blizzard Q&A about this zone!

The Mantid Corruption

The mantid are a highly-intelligent insect race with their own unique beautiful culture and architecture. However, they've been a threat to Pandaria since prehistoric times, swarming the continent every thousand years. The pandaren have braced themselves and gotten used to holding back the monstrous swarms every generational cycle, using the great wall across the continent as primary defense.

Unfortunately, their queen has fallen prey to the Sha of Fear and turned corrupt. This has led to the mantids attacking the Pandaren directly a hundred years ahead of schedule and invading Townlong Steppes, which in turn forced the native Yaungols out into Kun-Lai Summit where they've attacked the Pandaren settlements.

The Klaxxi

After being awakened with a tuning fork, will fly you to Klaxxi'vess and tell you about his role as a protector of the Klaxxi ideals. Buried in amber to remain impartial and distanced from current events, the Klaxxi are awakened at times of great need. If the leader of the mantid is corrupted, they are sworn to unseat her for the good of the swarm.

Klaxxi'vess is a quest and faction hub at the center of Dread Wastes. There's an innkeeper, a quartermaster (Ambersmith Zikk), an Alchemy Trainer (Poisoncrafter Kil'zit), and zone-wide buffs you can get from Iyyokik the Lucid:

I am Kil'ruk, a warrior from an era long passed.In my time, this was a mogu stronghold. It was my honor to paint the walls with their blood.For my deeds, I was named a Paragon. A cultural hero, to be preserved in amber for a time when the empire would need… correcting.Wakener, what power is this that burns our land and corrupts our trees?The palace! This is… not our way. I see why the Klaxxi have been forced to act.They are a council of our wisest cultural leaders. They serve to check the power of the Empress.Should her desire for conquest ever endanger our civilization, the Klaxxi are sworn to unseat her. There are others like me. Paragons of each era, frozen in time and buried safely beyond the whispers of the Empress.We answer only to the council. And we rest only when their will is done.

The Anglers

The Anglers have another settlement in southern Dread Wastes with an innkeeper and flight path. This hub is a bit lighthearted admist all the doom and gloom--the crew seems obsessed with cameras and cheesy jokes.

Capitain "Soggy" Suo-Dao:

Don't mind those two idiots outside--they're caught up in some fad called "sharking."

I'd wager they feel pretty dumb about that picture in a couple of months.

You Otter Know: Use the Bag of Clams to feed 8 Coldwhisker Otters in the Shelf of Mazu.

Fresh Pots: Kill Sea Monarchs and use their meat to bait Empty Crab Pots in the Shelf of Mazu.

On the Crab: Attach a Mist-Hopper Buoy to 8 Full Crab Pots on the Shelf of Mazu.

Shark Week: Collect 200 Thresher Teeth by pulling them from the jaws of Longfin Threshers on the Shelf of Mazu.

The Mariner's Revenge: Launch the Mist-Hopper Jr. from the dock in Soggy's Gamble and use it to bring down Jiao.

Sunset Brewgarden and Chen Stormstout

A group of daredevil sapmasters have made their home over the mantid wall--a risky choice for sure. They're trying to use the amber from kypari trees, renowned for healing properties, but the mantids corrupting all the trees leads to trouble.

Chen Stormstout, legendary brewmaster, is also in Dread Wastes, searching for his remaining family members, which leads to both bittersweet and touching reunions. In searching for his family members, he also learns about the Klaxxi, freeing NPCs that later show up in Klaxxi'vess.

This quest hub is located on the northern border of Dread Wastes by Townlong Steppes, with a flight master for both factions.

Sapmaster Vu:

We're a strange lot…not many pandaren choose to live on this side of the wall.

In short, we're making beer. Not just any beer, though… beer brewed with the sap of the great kypari trees.

…disgusting, I know. But it's not.

The amber that these trees produce has amazing healing properties. The mantid can't get enough of it. They consume it, they use it in their weapons and architecture… I've even heard legends that they embalm their great heroes in the stuff.

Exactly. The traditions of the sapmasters reach back through countless generations. I am but one link in a chain of sap-thirsty pandaren.

Sometimes, however, I fear that I may be the final link.

The trees are dying. Kypari Vor is already dead… a victim of the sha. It will never again produce amber. It barely even looks like a tree anymore.

The few amber-producing trees that remain are either being overharvested by the mantid, or in danger of succumbing to sha. Either way, no more sap means no more sapmasters. At which point, I'd have to return to my old job.

Dumping presser.

<Vu sighs.>

Blizzard Q&A with Don Adams

Blizzard

Q: So What’s the Story in the Dread Wastes?A: The Dread Wastes are the mantid homeland. From here, Grand Empress Shek’zeer commands a seemingly endless swarm of mantid. They hurl themselves against the Serpent’s Spine wall, nearly overwhelming the Shado-Pan defenders. Historically, the mantid have swarmed in regular and predictable intervals, but this swarm is about ten years too soon, and the pandaren are caught off-guard. It’s not that the Empress is getting more strategic; in fact, her whole society is in the middle of an upheaval.

Shek’zeer has been overwhelmed and possessed by the Sha of Fear, and she’s running her empire into the ground. At her command, the mantid are embracing the sha, willfully corrupting themselves, their sacred trees, and the entire ecology of their land. Blind fear has driven the empress onto a warpath and it’s tearing her civilization apart.

The mantid, however, are not a hive-mind. Their race is ancient, highly advanced, and highly structured. A council of mantid elders known as the Klaxxi are the stewards of mantid history and culture, and their goals are much more long-term than those of the empress. Avoiding spoilers, I will say that the Klaxxi are essentially the keepers of the mantid’s true origin and purpose. They recognize that the empress has lost her mind, and that swarming Pandaria will mean little if their entire civilization is given over to the sha in the process. Most of the zone focuses around this conflict between the mantid swarm and the Klaxxi, showcasing both the terrible scope of a full-on swarm and the fallout of unchecked sha corruption.

We also have a few side stories that follow some particularly hardy pandaren who have ventured into the Dread Wastes. The Stormstout family has come to bring the fight directly to the mantid, and have fallen in with a group of brewmasters who specialize in brewing with sap from the native kypari trees. Meanwhile, the crew of a wrecked fishing boat has set up shop on the southern coast and is reaping the benefits of being the only Anglers beyond the wall.

Q: How Does the Story Play Out? What Factions Will Players Encounter?A: This zone is all about the Klaxxi, which is a player power faction offering level-90 rewards. The quest flow is meant to blend “level-up” quest progression with a daily reputation grind, so you begin working with the Klaxxi and earning rep almost immediately after setting foot in the zone. Your progression through the one-shot quests yields direct benefits to the eventual daily experience, and your progression into the higher rep levels through dailies will in turn open up more one-shot story quests.

So what will players be doing to help the Klaxxi? Although the Klaxxi are wise and powerful, there aren’t very many of them. They don’t have a standing army. But they do have access to the paragons: mantid champions from past eras who were preserved in amber at the height of their strength and buried all over the Dread Wastes. Some of them are war masters, others are ingenious alchemists or master assassins. These guys are the Klaxxi’s ace in the hole.

When you first arrive in Dread Wastes, you stumble upon one of these paragons and wake him up – he then introduces you to the council, and they allow you to continue waking up paragons to help build their forces. These paragons become your daily questgivers, so as you’re waking them up you’re also unlocking more dailies. They also provide you with buffs that let you do things like mind control enemies or double-jump while in the Dread Wastes.

Q: What Are Some of Your Favorite Places Within the Zone?A: My advice to anyone stepping into Dread Wastes for the first time is to look up. The sky just pulses with sha energy, it’s eerie and almost hypnotic. It does a great job of setting the theme for the entire place: sha fallout.

On the northern edge of the zone is the Sunset Brewgarden, where the sapmasters make brews from kypari sap. I love the way this area looks, with all the brewing equipment and the sap being tapped out of the tree.

This sap (or amber) is central to the mantid way of life, so you’re also going to find some really amazing mantid chambers beneath some of the bigger trees where the sap collects in these great golden pools. The Amber Hibernal comes to mind, but there are several more, including some tucked beneath the Heart of Fear itself.

The Heart of Fear, of course, is the mantid palace and the seat of Grand Empress Shek’zeer. There are plenty of quests immediately outside the palace, but you’ll need a raid if you want to step inside and challenge the empress herself. Stretching out from the palace and ending at the Serpent’s Spine are two great scars from the endless marching of the mantid swarm. Along these scars you’re also going to see a few of the kypari trees completely engulfed by the sha, with mantid workers harvesting the corrupted amber and feeding it to their warriors or using it to quicken the development of their eggs.

It’s a bleak zone, and a dangerous one. I really think it captures the oppressive mood you expect from the final zone in an expansion.

The staff at Wowhead got the chance to try out some awesome gaming accessories recently! We've included our reviews below: Ashelia covered the 2012 Edition Razer Naga and I wrote about Turtle Beach's Z11 Gaming Headset. They're both fine additions that will definitely enhance your gaming experience in Azeroth and beyond.

We've also included a news round up as usual after the cut--the level cap has been raised to 90 on beta, so expect a lot more previews soon.

Most of the time a mouse is a mouse. You won't notice anything too different and the features don't matter much. There are numbers like DPI and other buzz words, but unless you're into competitive FPS games, chances are you won't notice a difference.

And then there's the Razer Naga. The folks at Razer sent Wowhead their 2012 version of the Razer Naga. In the past week, we've gone from ambivalent to addicted to the Razer Naga.

The biggest reason? Its design.

The Naga a little different than most mice--it's designed for MMORPGs and it shows. Instead of just providing a couple of buttons, the Razer Naga has twelve number keys on the side that can be bound to any spell or macro. Every number is easily reached by your thumb. It effectively gives the Naga the functionality of a gamepad while still keeping the simplicity of a mouse.

We've been wondering where the head enchants were in Mists of Pandaria and it looks like they're gone! Ghostcrawler gave some insight today about how he disliked the head enchant system as he felt it caused players to pick their reputation based on their class rather than personal preference. He's also removed reputation based shoulder enchants, in favor of having scribes make shoulder enchants for all players.

What do you think? Are you ready to pick the faction with the cutest vanity rewards instead of the perfectly itemized enchant for your helmet?

Head enchants are gone.

We decided that putting head enchants on the various faction vendors wasn't working well with our design intent for the factions. There is a lot of max-level quest content in MoP, much of it focused around the reputation with the new factions. I think it's really cool stuff -- worlds away from the old Argent Crusade scourge stone days. :)

In previous expansions, the head enchants on the faction vendors served to force players into that content. You couldn't even choose which reputation to pursue -- you had to pursue the one with your specific head enchant. Our design intent for MoP is to give players options in how to play, and the head enchant design wasn't compatible with that.

Once we decided to no longer offer new head enchants, we made the older ones non-functional or else players would feel like they had to go back to older content or be missing out on power. This way, helmets are just no longer enchantable and you'll have one less required step to get a piece of loot ready to wear.

Shoulder enchants can now be provided by scribes, so those still exist, but they are also not part of the faction reputation system.

Like achievement points and reputation rewards? 4.2 introduces a new raid-only reputation, the Avengers of Hyjal, as well as a slew of daily quests to boost reputation with Guardians of Hyjal. It's a crazy time in 4.2 with all the new things to do, but really, quest hubs and rep grinds are nothing new to the game. The Exalted is still a prestigious title to get, especially if you haven't been playing since vanilla, so we'll highlight the available factions and spotlight fun titles and vanity items you can get along the way. Blizzard has a history of putting in complex reputation hubs--Isle of Quel'Danas, Argent Tournament, so if you enjoy Hyjal dailies, these older hubs are worth checking out when the 4.2 dust settles. if you can't stand questing, you can zerg older instances in your level 85 epics. We've recently updated the information on some of our faction and currency pages, so now is a great time to check them out!

For personal achievements, there are a series of reputation-related ones:

Back in 4.0.3, there was some controversy over this achievement. Blizzard initially raised the reputations needed to achieve the title, but it was reverted back to 40 reputations soon after. The other achievements are still there--they just don't give you anything special besides points.

In Cataclysm, guild reputation was introduced which was meant to promote stability and community among guildmates. Reputation with one's guild was gained by completing quests and participating in guild-run instances, raids, RBGs, and arena. To speed up reputation gains among alts and new recruits, two new tabards were introduced that gave bonus gains to guild reputation: Illustrious Guild Tabard and Renowned Guild Tabard.

Even with perks like the tabards and Mr. Popularity, it will still take some time to hit Exalted, as there is a weekly cap on guild reputation (4375 before bonuses).

A subset of the Cenarion Circle directly battling Ragnaros' armies in Firelands, one gains rep with the Avengers of Hyjal solely through killing trash and bosses. Most of the trash stops giving rep after 5999/6000 Friendly, but several challenging mobs continue to do so.

These factions, groups of jailers, battle for control of Tol Barad, a strategic island with valuable resources.

The NPCs joke that their orders change every day at 3 am, a reference to their large number of possible daily quests. Most players can do six dailies on Tol Barad Peninsula and up to nine dailies (if lucky) in Tol Barad for reputation. (However, if your server resets dailies at 4 am, you can check back at 3 am to see if several new quests are available on the Peninsula.) After each win, three dailies will remain constant while the other three can (but not always) change to focus on a different prison block. Tol Barad wins and commendations also award reputation. There is a tabard, Baradin's Wardens Tabard, but it does not grant reputation.

The Dragonmaw Clan, formerly the cruel enslavers of Alexstrasza, were recruited to assist the Horde in Cataclysm by Warchief Garrosh. The Wildhammer Clan, a reclusive Dwarvish clan, has re-entered Dwarven politics since the Council of the Three Hammers.

Players gain reputation through wearing Tabard of the Dragonmaw Clan/Tabard of the Wildhammer Clan in level 85 dungeons, doing lengthy questlines in Twilight Highlands, and a series of dailies. The questlines will not grant that much honor (roughly to the start of Honored), so this is a reputation you want to wear a tabard for early-on.

Wrath of the Lich King popularized commendation badges for reputation gains--the Argent Crusade, Kirin Tor, Knights of the Ebon Blade, Sons of Hodir, and The Wyrmrest Accord all have commendations that can be purchased with Justice Points in Dalaran.

The Alliance Vanguard is an umbrella organization representing the united efforts of the Alliance in Northrend. They have headquarters in Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord.

Reputation comes naturally--when you gain reputation with any of the Vanguard's four sub-factions (Explorer's League, The Frostborn, The Silver Covenant, Valliance Expedition), you gain spillover rep with Alliance Vanguard. So by the time you are Exalted with two sub-factions, you will hit Exalted with the Alliance Vanguard. You can gain reputation with the other factions through questing or doing level 80 dungeons without a tabard.

The Argent Crusade is an alliance between the Argent Dawn and Knights of the Silver Hand in an attempt to defeat The Lich King. Their bases are located in Dragonblight, Zul'Drak, and Icecrown.

Players can complete numerous quests in Western Plaguelands, Eastern Plaguelands, Dragonblight, Zul'Drak, and Icecrown for reputation, as well as daily quests at the Argent Tournament, Tabard of the Argent Crusade in level 80 dungeons at Friendly, and Pa'Troll in Zul'drak.

Like the Alliance Vanguard, the Horde Expedition is an umbrella organization representing the united efforts of the Horde, led by the Warsong Offensive.

Reputation comes naturally--when you gain reputation with any of the Vanguard's four sub-factions (The Hand of Vengeance, The Taunka, Warsong Offensive, The Sunreavers), you gain spillover rep with the Horde Expedition. So by the time you are Exalted with two sub-factions, you will hit Exalted with the Horde Expedition. You can gain reputation with the other factions through questing or doing level 80 dungeons without a tabard.

The Kirin Tor are a group of wizards located in Dalaran, who both research magic and protect the city from future harm.

Players can complete quests in Borean Tundra for reputation, as well as daily cooking, fishing, and dungeon quests offered in Dalaran. Players can gain reputation through using Tabard of the Kirin Tor in level 80 dungeons at Friendly as well; since there aren't many quests, this is a good option. Mages are automatically friendly with the Kirin Tor.

The Knights of the Ebon Blade are a group of death knights who have broken free of Arthas' will and now server Highlord Darion Mograine. Their quartermaster can be unlocked through a series of quests in Icecrown related to The Shadow Vault, a subzone in Icecrown.

Players gain reputation with the Knights of the Ebon Blade through quests in Zul'Drak and Icecrown, as well as daily quests at The Shadow Vault and the Argent Tournament. Tabard of the Ebon Blade can be purchased at Friendly (with correct Shadow Vault phasing) for reputation in level 80 dungeons. Death Knights start off as Friendly.

The Kalu'ak are a group of tuskarr, nomadic walrus-like humanoids. They are great fishermen but less-skilled warriors--they are constantly attacked on their outposts in Borean Tundra, Howling Fjord, and Dragonblight by numerous Wrath factions.

Alliance Vanguard

For all these factions, one may earn reputation by simply not equipping a tabard in instances. The highest faction will be given the main amount of reputation, with the other three factions receiving spillover reptatuion.

The Explorers' League is an organization dedicated to preserving the Dwarven past through artifacts, which soon turned into a larger organization seeking historical information about the entire world. Their main bases are located in Ironforge and Howling Fjord, with quests in Howling Fjord and The Storm Peaks granting reputation.

The Frostborn, a long-reclusive type of dwarf, lives in Frosthold in The Storm Peaks, ruled by Yorg Stormheart--Magni Bronzebeard after he lost his memory. They offer a handful of quests in The Storm Peaks and their NPCs sell fun items in return for the Relics of Ulduar such as Iron Boot Flask.

Valiance Expedition is the main branch of the Alliance in Northrend, under orders of King Varian Wrynn. Their bases are located in Howling Fjord and Dragonblight. Their quests are found in Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, Grizzly Hills, Howling Fjord, and Icecrown.

Horde Expedition

For all these factions, one may earn reputation by simply not equipping a tabard in instances. The highest faction will be given the main amount of reputation, with the other three factions receiving spillover reptatuion.

The Hand of Vengeance is a group of Forsaken sent to Northrend to fight the Lich King with deadly Plague, players gain some reputation through quests in Howling Fjord and Dragonblight.

The Taunka, relations to the tauren, have faced great tragedy in Northrend, recently joining the Horde after evacuating from Borean Tundra. Quest chains in Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord grant reputation.

The Warsong Offensive, an elite sect of the Warsong Clan, leads the Horde Expedition in Northrend. Players gain reputation from quests in Ashenvale, Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, Grizzly Hills, Icecrown, and The Storm Peaks.

Sholazar Basin

In Sholazar Basin, players embark on a series of quests allying them with both whimsical factions--Frenzyheart Tribe and The Oracles--at different points while leveling. At the end of the quest series, you are forced to make a choice when completing A Hero's Burden: Killing Jaloot first will ensure your allegiance to the Frenzyheart Tribe, while killing Zepik deters you away from the Tribe and towards The Oracles. Make sure to pick up the quest from the surviving Tribe member! After hitting exalted with one faction, you can repeat this kill to pick up the quest for the other faction. Both factions offer three daily quests out of eight total needed for Honorary Frenzyheart/Savior of the Oracles. Hitting exalted with both factions eventually will grant Mercenary of Sholazar, but only your current Exalted faction will count towards 40 Exalted Reputations.

The Ashtongue Deathsworn are an elite sect of the Broken, a cast-off draenei tribe on Outlands. Initially, they served under Akama who supported Illidan Stormrage, but upon liberating Akama from his Shade in Black Temple, the Deathsworn rebel.

Players can reputation through the Black Temple attunement questline in Shadowmoon Valley and the Arcatraz, but the majority of the reputation will come from killing the trash and bosses in Black Temple.

Okuno on the second floor of The Black Temple sell shadow resist craftables as well as epic class trinkets at Exalted. Hitting exalted grants Sworn to the Deathsworn.

The Cenarion Expedition is a branch of the Cenarion Circle in Outlands, dealing with the threat of the Naga in Zangarmarsh and the strange wildlife in Outlands. Their quartermaster is located at Cenarion Refuge in Zangarmarsh.

These two factions, while they have very different lore, are meant to be equivalent factions in Nagrand that grant shiny talbuks. The Kurenai are a sect of the Broken, exiled and tainted Draenei, that are looking to discover their new identity. The Mag'har are Thrall's ancestral family--and a highlight of TBC questing is learning how Thrall reconnects with his grandmother.

Questing in Nagrand will get you pretty far--killing ogres grants reputation, as does turning in the Obsidian Warbeads most any creature in Nagrand drops.

Netherwing is a faction of enslaved dragons in Shadowmoon Valley, whom the player helps to thwart the bloodthirsty Dragonmaw Fel Orcs.

Players get to neutral with Netherwing through a quest series beginning with Kindness. Upon completing that, the daily hub at Netherwing Ledge is unlocked. Players can gain reputation either by doing dailies or turning in Netherwing Egg scattered around the sub-zone. We've got a pretty extensive reputation guide on our faction page.

The Sporeggar are a peaceful faction of mushroom-humanoids in western Zangarmarsh.

Players start off at unfriendly with Sporeggar and can complete The Sporelings' Plight and Natural Enemies to reach Friendly. After Friendly, there are several repeatable quests players can do--the easiest by far is turning in Sanguine Hibiscus for Bring Me A Shrubbery!, which are found in the Underbog. Even without a level-capped rogue, it's easy to do stealth runs and net 15 flowers a pop.

The Consortium, a friendly group of ethereal traders, are located in Mana Tombs, Nagrand, and Netherstorm.

The easiest way by far is to grind out Zaxxis Insignia in Netherstorm for Another Heap of Ethereals--the respawn rate of the mobs is extremely fast and the droprate is fairly high. Players can also turn in Obsidian Warbeads, but it makes more sense to save them for the Kurenai/Mag'har grind. Reputation is also granted from running Mana-Tombs.

The Scale of the Sands is a subset of the Bronze Dragonflight involved in Hyjal Summit.

Players gain reputation with The Scale of the Sands by killing bosses and trash inside Mount Hyjal. There are only five bosses, which each spawn after waves of trash--so it's possible to keep wiping on the boss to respawn and farm the waves of trash.

At Friendly, players obtain an epic ring upon completing The Vials of Eternity, a former attunement chain, which is upgraded as your reputation levels increase. Players can purchase numerous epic gem cuts and hunters used to be able to purchase epic ammo. Hitting Exalted grants The Scale of the Sands.

The Shattered Sun Offensive is Shattrath's response to Kil'jaeden's operations in the Sunwell Plateau. It's a daily quest hub similar to the Molten Front with different phases of daily quests and a wide variety of rewards.

There are numerous vendor rewards, such epic gem cuts for jewelcrafters and several epic trinket recipes for alchemists. Tabard of the Shattered Sun, You're So Offensive, and the title "of the Shattered Sun" are available at Exalted.

The Aldor and The Scryers are rival factions--the Aldor are a group of Draenei priests while the Scryers are a rebellious group of blood elves that sought redemption after their malicious deeds. Upon discovering Shattrath City, you will be given a tour of the city and then asked to pick a faction. You can only be Exalted with one faction at a time, but crafters and achievement-collectors have swapped sides for fun and Hero of Shattrath

The Argent Dawn is the precursor to the Argent Crusade, a group of soldiers dedicated to protecting Azeroth from evils such as the Burning Legion and the Scourge. While most members are now officially in the Argent Crusade, one can still hit Exalted with this faction.

The Bloodsail Buccaneers are the rival trading partners of Booty Bay in The Cape of Stranglethorn.

Players gain reputation by slaughtering inhabitants of Booty Bay. The guards will net you and keep spawning--so bring friends to handle the waves of hostile mobs. Also be warned that your Steamwheedle Cartel rep will drop, but fortunately there are ways to raise it once your rep grind is done. Remember not to do quests associated with the Steamwheedle Cartel or else your pirate rep will drop! (However, players previously Honored with the Bloodsail before Cataclysm will have enough reputation to remain in good standing even if they redo all of STV for Loremaster.) Back in Wrath, players could painstakingly hit exalted by farming one lone goblin in The Badlands, Jazzrik, but he's now been removed.

This faction won't count towards the Exalted--the Feat of Strength Avast Ye, Admiral!, only requires Friendly and the Insane requires Honored; at that level, you'll get Avast Ye, Admiral!, which rewards you with a pirate hat that summons a parrot: Bloodsail Admiral's Hat. This achievement also grants the title "Bloodsail Admiral."

The Brood of Nozdormu consists of the Bronze Dragonflight, led by Anachronos. They are mostly found in Silithus, integral to the outcome of Ahn'Qiraj.

Reputation starts off slow with the Brood of Nozdormu. The quest to open the gates of Ahn'Qiraj gave some reputation, but that was removed in Cataclysm. Players gain reputation from clearing trash and bosses in Ahn'Qiraj (as well as smaller amounts of rep from bosses in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj), with slight amounts of additional reputation for completing quests that turn in honor. Clearing trash will only get you to 2999/3000 Neutral, so it is recommended to save the Qiraji Lord's Insignia from bosses and Ancient Qiraji Artifact from trash until then.

Exalted with the Brood grants Brood of Nozdormu. Neutral, Friendly, and Honored reputation is needed to create different components of Tier 2.5 armor, like Avenger's Crown. Epic rings are also available at each level of reputation until Exalted.

The Cenarion Circle is a cross-faction organization of druids of all races, united to protect and restore nature. Their center is in Moonglade, a zone that all Druids can teleport to. Affiliates of the Cenarion Circle keep appearing in later expansions--the Cenarion Expedition, Guardians of Hyjal, and Avengers of Hyjal.

There are many quests scattered about Azeroth that give reputation. Players can also farm the Ruins and Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, in addition to turning in Encrypted Twilight Text dropped by Cultists in Silithus. The Twilight Prophet, a rare elite, is guaranteed to drop a hefty number of texts.

The Cenarion Circle vendors primarily sold patterns for nature resistance gear--once important for fighting Princess Huhuran. Collectors will want these items--do keep in mind that the Leatherworking vendor, Aendel Windspear, is a ghost in Southwind Village, while Lieutenant General Andorov is located inside the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj.

The Darkmoon Faire, needed for Insane in the Membrane, is Azeroth's traveling carnival--with monthly stops alternating between Elwynn Forest, Mulgore, and Terokkar Forest. Players can enjoy many perks of a real carnival, such as prizes, fortunes, contests, and fanciful refreshments.

It is difficult and expensive to gain reputation with the Darkmoon Faire. You will want to have access to an inscriptionist, or otherwise have a sharp eye for the Auction House. The easiest way to gain reputation is to turn in decks for trinkets such as Darkmoon Card: Madness, which yield 350 reputation. Some players look for cheap cards on the AH, hoping to sell the completed decks. Others tip players that want to redeem decks--instead, the reputation-hunter will turn in the deck, gain the 350 reputation, and trade the other player the completed trinket. There are smaller decks that award 25 reputation such as Rogues Deck, and various ticket-turnins of low-level items for 75 reputation.

The Gelkis and Magram Clan Centaurs are rival tribes in southern Desolace. In completing quest chains, players unite all of the tribes against a common demonic foe. However, pre-Cataclysm, these two factions were at war with each other and killing one tribe raised reputation with the other. The reputation panels remain in-game, but the old way of gaining reputation has been removed. You couldn't hit Exalted with either tribe under the old system, but it was a challenge for players that truly were obsessive about reputation.

Hydraxian Waterlords are the sworn enemies of Ragnaros, the Firelord. Players used to need reputation to acquire Eternal Quintessence, which allowed each boss rune in Molten Core to be doused, summoning Majordomo Executus. That's been simplified in Cataclysm though.

Ravenholdt, the Assassin's League, is a group of rogues located at the Ravenholdt Manner in Alterac Mountains.

Rogues have special quests to gain reputation, such as Syndicate Emblems. However, for all races, it's easiest to kill Syndicate in Hillsbrad Foothills until 11999/12000 Honored, repeating Junkboxes Needed until Exalted. Players will need the aid of a rogue to pickpocket level 50-60 mobs in instances such as Blackrock Spire.

Exalted is required for Insane in the Membrane. There are no other noticable rewards besides the NPCs praising players more generously as reputation increases.

The Timbermaws are peaceful and uncorrupted Furbolgs that live in a tunnel between Felwood and Winterspring. They are cautious about trusting outsiders, so you will have to work hard to gain their respect.

After Cataclysm, the location of some Furbolg camps have changed, but the principle is the same. Complete quests in Felwood first, then complete the quests from Donova Snowden in Winterspring. Then, kill all of the furbolgs in sight, turning in More Beads for Salfa for additional reputation. It shouldn't take players a ton of time to hit Exalted, even if they skip some quests.

Alliance Forces

Reaching Exalted with all three factions rewards Alliance players with The Justicar. Gaining rep with these factions used to unlock additional PvP gear, tabards, and mounts, but these have mostly been changed to honor.

The Silverwing Sentinels hope to drive the Orcs out of Warsong Gulch, keeping the forests of Ashenvale safe.

One of the most difficult grinds in the game, you gain 35 reputation (45 on holiday weekends) per flag cap in Warsong Gulch. Definitely recommend queueing with friends for this one, as you'll most likely finish out the WSG meta before this achievement.

Horde Forces

Reaching Exalted with all three factions rewards Horde players with The Conqueror. Gaining rep with these factions used to unlock additional PvP gear, tabards, and mounts, but these have mostly been changed to honor.

The Warsong Outriders, formerly led by Grom Hellscream, try to defend their logging camps against the protests of the Alliance.

One of the most difficult grinds in the game, you gain 35 reputation (45 on holiday weekends) per flag cap in Warsong Gulch. Definitely recommend queueing with friends for this one, as you'll most likely finish out the WSG meta before this achievement.

Exalted with all four city-factions of the Steamwheedle Cartel is needed for Insane in the Membrane. Each city--Booty Bay, Everlook, Gadgetzan, and Ratchet--offers quest hubs that give reputation with their respective city-faction. With the changes to Dire Maul in Cataclysm and removal of Free Knot!, the only way to hit Exalted is by grinding pirates in various areas--Southsea Pirates, Wastewater Bandits, rare pirate mobs, pirates in Grizzly Hills. If you have previously trashed Goblin reputations while working on the Insane, you can get back to Neutral through the following quests outside each city which grant 500 reputation towards that city's faction and 250 spillover rep: Traitor to the Bloodsail, Making Amends, War at Sea, and Mending Old Wounds. Be aware that while doing the 4.1 series starting from The Zandalar Representative, Traitor to the Bloodsail will not be obtainable.

The Syndicate is a group of human criminals and rogues located in Alterac Mountains and Arathi Highlands. They're hated by both the Alliance and the Horde; they operate on their own terms. The only way to gain reputation with The Syndicate is through killing NPCs at Ravenholdt Manor--but this process is very slow and will only take you to 0/3000 Neural.

The Wintersaber Trainers used to be a difficult grind for the Alliance, simplified greatly in Cataclysm. In past years, there were three repeatable quests that gave tiny amounts of reputation that required players to travel all around the zone. Now, players do a set amount of daily quests per day that grant a fair amount of reputation. Upon obtaining Reins of the Winterspring Frostsaber, players earn Winterspring Frostsaber.

Now removed from the game, The Shen'dralar was one of the most fascinating factions, also one of the most difficult ones to gain reputation with. They are a group of arcane mages that flourished in Night Elf society before the Sundering; currently, they have broken their long exile to train apprentice magi in Cataclysm. Players who hit exalted pre-Cata received the FoS Agent of the Shen'dralar. This reputation grind involved turning in zone-wide libram drops with special BoP items found in the Plaguelands. The librams were unique, and so only one could be kept in your inventory at a time. The Shen'dralar's library is still intact, as well as the NPCs--it's definitely worth checking out for the lore.

The Zandalar Tribe was a friendly group of scholarly trolls that aided adventurers in Zul'Gurub, providing them with armor, shoulder enchants, and elixirs. Players gained reputation by killing trash and bosses as well as turning in Bijous to their sacred altar on Yojimba Isle. With the changes in Cataclysm, this reputation was no longer obtainable as the Zandalar turned hostile, aligning themselves with several bloodthirsty tribes in a last-ditch attempt to preserve fading Troll customs. Players who hit Exalted previously were granted Hero of the Zandalar Tribe.

So what does this all mean? You'll have some leeway in picking factions along the way. Personally, I'd skip factions like the Silverwing Sentinels, Darkmoon Faire and Ogri'la if you're just looking to get 40 reps as soon as possible. Maybe you'd prefer factions that have quartermasters that sell tons of recipes, or you're interested in factions that grant titles and achievements. If you're a completionist though, remember to look at our quest/item lists and to keep bag spaces open for all the mobs you'll be looting along the way! WIth 60 factions at Exalted on my main and an alt with Syndicate neutral, I haven't done many reputation grinds recently, but it was great fun to write this guide and see how the grinds have changed over the years. The best part by far when writing this guide was going back to the quest hubs seeing how some NPCs cheer me on when I interact with them!

As some of you guys may already know, PTR Patch 4.1 has just shown up on Blizzard's Public Test Realm data servers, and with it came some exciting new changes and additions! As usual, we've brought back our PTR site so that you guys can stay on top of all the latest additions!

Due to intense response from players, after extensive internal discussion Blizzard has decided to revert their recent change to the Exalted title. Recently, this title was changed to be awarded only after reaching 50 Exalted reputations, up from the 40 previously required.

As a result, players who had previously earned the title with 40 reputations had the title taken away from them, with their only method of re-obtaining it being to get more Exalted reputations. Blizzard has since decided this was unfair, and due to a lack of a proper way to award the title to players who earned it from 40, and then moving the title up to requiring 50 now, it will now require 40 Exalted reputations again.

Recently we changed the Exalted title to require 50 exalted titles up from 40, which meant those that had achieved it were now asked to get 10 more reputations to gain the title back. We felt this kept the title as a difficult reward given the additional reputations introduced with Cataclysm, and also avoided the problem of achievement inflation as the game continues to grow, devaluing the reward.

We didn’t let people know beforehand that we were making this change. A pretty cut and dry error on our part. We take full responsibility for not communicating the change properly, and apologize for the frustration it added to the situation. Unfortunately, that frustration in some people’s cases went to an extreme. Over the past couple days we’ve handed out innumerable suspensions to people who were unable to stay within the forum code of conduct while posting about this change. We of course understand passions can run hot, but some of the violations were extreme enough to remove people’s posting privileges permanently. It’s unfortunate because rational, calm, and constructive posting is the type of feedback that’s taken, discussed, and can help encourage real change. For those that were able to adhere to those posting ideals, we truly thank you for your efforts in keeping your cool.

We took your constructive posts and points, and after discussing the change for quite a while with the designers, the decision has been made to move ‘the Exalted’ title back to require 40 exalted reputations. We’re going to attempt this change with a hotfix, but are unsure at this time if it will be able to be applied through a hotfix. It’s possible that a client patch will be required. (We’ll let you know if it does.)

The 45 and 50 exalted reputation achievements will continue to exist, but for the time being won’t provide anything beyond achievement points. As some have questioned why the title isn’t grandfathered like ‘the Loremaster’ or ‘the Explorer’ titles, these function differently mechanically. While their requirements have changed the actual achievement is the same. There’s no tech currently that allows us to give a title for an achievement and then move that title to a different achievement altogether and have people keep them. We are however working on such a technology that will allow players to keep items or titles associated with achievements even if we decide to change that criteria. So, say if we eventually decide to move ‘the Exalted’ title to an achievement which requires 60 reputations in the next expansion (just as an example), players who already earned the title at 40 reputations will get to keep the title when the criteria changes. This technology would allow us to let players keep titles or items they’ve already earned, while ensuring we don’t get stuck in a position where we have to continually generate new rewards just so those who earned them originally don’t lose them.

Looks like the discussion is heating back up in the guild reputation thread we reported on a few days ago. Blizzard poster Bashiok has replied to a few more posts in this thread, offering more insight into why guild reputation works the way it does and why these restrictions are necessary to prevent abuse. While I definitely agree that proper restrictions should be in place to prevent abuse of the system, I also know that Blizzard is more than capable of implementing changes without allowing abuse.

Many of you guys had some excellent suggestions to improve the guild reputation system (that guild leader-specified daily quest thing was great!) but sadly there has been no mention of any changes to it in the near future. Oh well, at least I'm almost Revered with my own guild. :(

There was a semi-heated discussion going on (which has since magically disappeared) on the official forums regarding the concept and mechanics behind guild reputation. As many of you already know, guild reputation can be earned by completing various tasks, such as completing a dungeon or boss kill in a guild group, or by turning in quests. Guild reputation is required for certain rewards earned via guild leveling. The current guild reputation cap is 3500 (adjusted to 3675 and 3850 via the Mr. Popularity Guild Perks).

For many players, this simply isn't enough. Others are disappointed in the lack of options for which to actually gain the reputation - and I have to say I agree with them there. I've been the guild master of my own guild for well over a year now and despite being one of the most active players and participating in basically everything that we do, I have lower guild reputation to than my guildies thanks to a reputation bug that Blizzard refused to admit existed. I gain reputation for completing seemingly random quests and occasionally whenever we kill a boss, though I agree that I'd much rather see reputation awarded for doing things that actually benefit the guild. I wish I could do something for my guys who are regularly taking the time out of their own schedules to farm trade materials for the guild bank, or who constantly help other players by providing free enchants and other such things. Wouldn't it be cool if guild leaders had a reserve of guild reputation that they could hand out to individuals? I found it rather hilarious that the only presented reasoning behind not awarding reputation for such tasks is that it would turn earning guild reputation into a "fun farming game" - news flash! For quite a few of us, WoW's already a farming game. Have you seen flask requirements (thankfully they're getting changed). Besides, since when has earning reputation not been a farm?

Blizzard posted Bashiok has taken the reins of the appropriately titled "Guild Rep is 100% Stupid." thread and offers insight on the decisions behind sources of guild reputation and its weekly cap. How do you guys feel about guild reputation? Anyone else find it as underwhelming as I do, and the cap and seemingly arbitrary means for gain relatively frustrating? Read on for the full posts and tell us what you think!